RAINE, Herbert (1875-1951) devoted much of his career in Montreal to artistic pursuits, and was known as a talented etcher and water colourist who frequently exhibited his work with the Royal Canadian Academy. Born in Sunderland, Co. Durham, England on 2 December 1875 he was the son of John Raine, a ship owner and industrialist. Raine articled to Frank Caws, FRIBA from 1892 to 1896, then worked briefly for W.J. Gilliland in Belfast before moving to London to join the office of Sir Aston Webb in 1898. He attended evening classes for five years at the Royal Academy Schools and in 1902 formed a partnership with Charles R. Mitchell in London (see list of works under Mitchell & Raine). In 1907 both he and Mitchell emigrated to Canada and settled at Montreal where they collaborated on several projects and competitions entries. During this period Raine worked briefly for Ross & MacFarlane and was their staff designer for the mansion for Charles A. Smart, Sunnyside Avenue, MONTREAL, QUE. (1910). By 1911 he had opened his own office and in 1913-14 had obtained commissions for large residences in WESTMOUNT, QUE. for Lorne C. Webster and W.G.M. Shepherd. Regrettably neither was built due to the outbreak of WWI. In early 1914 he and David H. MacFarlane (his former employer) teamed up to submit an entry in the competition for the Departmental Buildings in Ottawa. Their submission, one of six finalists from a group of 62 entries, was cited by the jury as worthy of an award, but their prize of $5,000 was not granted until 1923 (NAC, RG11, Vol 2951, File 5307-1-C, 14 July 1923). Raine was elected as an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1917, and his biography and photographic portrait was published in the Evening Record [Windsor], 5 Jan. 1917, 9.
Rejected for army service during WWI because of his height and insufficient agility, he took to sketching and drawing in the city of old Montreal after 1914; by 1920 he had developed a reputation as '....a leading exponent in Canada of the art of architectural etching' (Montreal Star, 17 Dec. 1920). Raine had several solo exhibits of his work and maintained an artist's studio in the New Birks Building until 1948. He died in Montreal on 24 May 1951 (obit. Gazette [Montreal], 26 May 1951, 15; Montreal Star, 26 May 1951, 22; biog. Colin S. MacDonald, Dictionary of Canadian Artists, 1982, vi, 1914-15; biog. and port. Rosemarie Tovell, A New Class of Art: The Artist's Print in Canadian Art, 1996, 135-7; R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2001, ii, 433; inf. Richard E. Bolton, Montreal)